Have you ever listened to a live performance and thought, “How does she make that sound?” Zara Larsson’s live rendition of Midnight Sun is one of those performances that stops you in your tracks.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Swedish landscape, this cinematic performance is packed with vocal techniques worth studying. Let’s break down what Zara Larsson is actually doing with her voice,and how you can start applying these techniques to your own singing.
Thick Vocal Fold and Chest Voice in Midnight Sun
One of the first things you’ll notice in Midnight Sun is that Zara Larsson opens with a thicker vocal fold, chest voice sound in the lower part of her range. She’s not just singing the notes, she’s coloring them. She uses what’s called a slack onset, easing into each phrase rather than hitting the notes hard.
On top of that, she releases to air at the end of her phrases, which adds a breathy, intimate quality to the sound. This is a stylistic choice that’s especially important in dance-pop music. If you’re working on this style, pay close attention to how Zara Larsson shapes the beginning and end of every line.
Transitioning Between Thick Vocal Fold and Falsetto
A standout feature of Midnight Sun is the rapid switching between a closed, thick vocal fold sound and falsetto as Zara Larsson moves higher in her range. This transition happens quickly and cleanly, which takes serious practice. The key here is keeping the volume low during these shifts.
You’ll notice that she keeps the microphone close to her mouth, allowing her to stay dynamic without pushing. It’s less about raw vocal power and more about the coloring of the sound,the subtle textures that make the performance feel alive.
Understanding Thin Vocal Fold vs. Falsetto
There’s an important distinction that Midnight Sun highlights beautifully: the difference between falsetto and a thin vocal fold sound with added air. Falsetto tends to sound hooty and hollow, but what Zara Larsson does is maintain resonance and core in her sound even when singing softly and high. The difference can be very small for some singers, but it matters enormously when you want to:
- Transition into louder vocal sounds smoothly
- Sing higher without losing tonal quality
- Add more presence and body to soft, high passages
This is something that needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, as every singer’s instrument is slightly different.
The Role of Breath and Abdominal Support
One of the most visual takeaways from the Midnight Sun performance is how Zara Larsson uses her abdominal muscles. You can see the engagement in her core, but it’s not excessive gripping. The abdominal muscles are your breathing-out muscles.
Sometimes you tense them to release air, and sometimes you engage them differently to stabilize the ribcage and build pressure in the thoracic cavity (where your heart and lungs are). This stabilization is critical when singing louder or sustaining long phrases. Importantly, what you don’t see is a massive amount of effort or strain, which tells us that her support system is efficient and well-practiced.
Adding Twang for Lower Notes
When Zara Larsson dips into the lower part of her range during Midnight Sun, she introduces a touch of twang to help close the vocal folds. Without this technique, lower notes can sound woofy or unfocused. Twang helps you:
- Maintain clarity and projection in your lower register
- Reduce excess breathiness on low notes
- Keep the vocal folds engaged without tension
As the voice goes lower, the vocal folds get shorter and the larynx drops, which means you sometimes need to add a bit of breath, but twang helps balance things out so the sound stays defined.
Mouth Shape, Cheek Lift, and Posture
Pay attention to Zara Larsson’s face and body during the higher, louder sections of Midnight Sun. You’ll see a slight lift in her cheeks, which helps raise the soft palate and create more space for resonance. Her tongue stays high, and the mouth opens just enough, more of a trumpet shape, which is ideal for chest voice sounds in the upper range.
Her posture is wide and expansive, using the upper back muscles and even some of the upper chest muscles to stabilize the smaller muscles around the neck. This full-body approach is what allows her to sing higher and louder with apparent ease.
Mix Voice and Jaw Relaxation
In the climactic moments of Midnight Sun, Zara Larsson shifts into a higher mix voice. Her jaw stays relaxed, and her posture remains open and expansive. There’s also a slight raise in the chin, which can help prevent the larynx from tipping too far forward, maintaining that louder, fuller mix voice quality. Everything is working together, from her toes to the top of her head, to support these bigger vocal moments.
To Belt or Not to Belt
Here’s the big question that Midnight Sun raises: do you really need to belt in pop music? Zara Larsson’s performance suggests that the answer is often no. Belting is characterized by a loud, calling-up quality where the cricoid cartilage tips back and the vocal folds become thicker than thick.
While her climactic moments are powerful, they’re not necessarily a full belt — they’re more of a strong, high chest voice or mix. This is an important lesson for developing singers: power and impact don’t always require belting. Versatility, control, and smart use of vocal color can be just as effective.
Practice Makes the Singer
What makes Zara Larsson’s performance of Midnight Sun so impressive isn’t just raw talent, it’s the result of years of dedicated practice. Mastering the passaggio (the transition between vocal registers), developing smooth and seamless register changes, and learning when to make those changes audible versus seamless are all skills that take time.
In pop music, sometimes you want that audible flip or click between registers, and sometimes you want a smooth, invisible transition. Building that versatility is what separates good singers from great ones.
If you want to learn more about how you can learn to implement these singing techniques into your own voice, let’s sit down for a chat and discuss if the vocal academy is the right fit for you. You can join us here.